Quarterback: C+
Against a hungry, smothering defense, Jimmy Clausen held his own in his Ravens debut.
Early and often, he used diverse snap counts to keep Seattle’s blitzers guessing, and even drew a false start.
While he looked to be holding onto the ball too long early in the game, he settled down and made some really nice throws while under fairly constant pressure.
On the final drive of the first half, with 38 seconds remaining, Clausen led Baltimore on a 68-yard drive that resulted in a field goal.
The thing that impressed me most about Clausen was his demeanor. He didn’t panic and he took chances. The interception to Sherman was a bad ball. He overthrew his intended receiver.
On the flip side, he should’ve been credited with a touchdown, but Daniel Brown dropped Clausen’s pass in the end zone late in the game after the ball hit him in the hands.
All in all, his performance was much better than I thought it would be.
Running backs: D
Usually when Baltimore’s running backs haven’t produced this season, it was because their offensive line wasn’t opening holes. While the offensive line didn’t have a good game today, Baltimore’s running backs had opportunities to gain yards and didn’t.
Both Buck Allen and Terrance West played with a lack of explosion and production. There seemed to be a bit too much hesitation from this group, particularly from West.
Granted, Seattle defenders were in their faces almost as soon as they got the hand-off, but 13 carries for 30 yards is poor. These guys are much more capable than that.
Although Allen continued to show some nice receiving skills, he made us all forget about those when he fumbled on Baltimore’s 14-yard line with less than one minute to play in the first half.
Wide receivers/Tight ends: B+
The wide receivers were the best position group the Ravens fielded today. Led by Kamar Aiken and Jeremy Butler, against a top-tier secondary, the Ravens wideouts made their fair share of big plays.
They competed well from start to finish and fought for maximum yardage. Four receivers caught at least five passes and three receivers finished with a per-reception average of at least 10 yards.
Considering Clausen was claimed off waivers 19 days ago and the Aiken being the veteran of this group at 26 years old, that’s a pretty good day at the office.
Offensive line: D
Though they were firing off the ball early, Baltimore’s offensive line had trouble gaining ground against Seattle’s defensive front. Especially against Michael Bennett, the Ravens struggled to contain the Seahawks rush and provide a clean pocket for Clausen.
Too many times (particularly Ryan Jensen) the Ravens blocked poorly on the perimeter. While Baltimore’s running backs had a bad game too, its offensive line wasn’t helping matters.
Pass protection was decent at best, as Seattle only recorded one sack. Still, even with injuries, I thought the Ravens’ offensive line could’ve been better.
Case in point: the Ravens gained 28 net rushing yards today. That’s their lowest rushing output in their last 43 games.
Defensive line: D
The Ravens defensive line was uncharacteristically passive today. Early on they were getting completely gashed and walled off, as the Seahawks were ripping off first down runs at will.
Thomas Rawls averaged 7.3 yards per carry before leaving the game with a broken ankle. As a team, Seattle rushed for 123 yards, and only six of those yards were gained by Russell Wilson.
Overall, Baltimore’s defensive line made a couple of nice pressures and a stop here and there. The best performances from this group belonged to Lawrence Guy and Brent Urban, who each made four tackles.
Yes, the secondary was very, very bad today, but the lack of pressure from the defensive line didn’t help matters.
Linebackers: D+
When watching this game, particularly in the first half, I couldn’t help but think Baltimore’s linebackers were like magnets to Seattle’s blockers.
C.J. Mosley and Daryl Smith made some plays, but for the majority of the game, they were either missing tackles or out of position in pass defense. Those missed tackles led to chunks of yards after the catch for Seattle.
The outside linebackers fared a little bit better than the inside linebackers. Courtney Upshaw played pretty well against the run, showing burst and physicality. The Alabama product even forced a fumble, which was gathered in by Elvis Dumervil.
Defensive Backs: F
In what universe is leaving a receiver wide open in the end zone acceptable?
Apparently this one, because that’s what Baltimore’s secondary did on multiple occasions. The score could’ve been worse, but Luke Willson dropped a touchdown early in the game, after beating the coverage of Will Hill.
Besides the near interception by Terrence Brooks and Lardarius Webb‘s big hit on Tyler Locket (that was incorrectly flagged for unnecessary roughness), the Ravens secondary not only failed to make an impact, they didn’t show up.
Seriously. When watching the replays of Seattle’s five touchdown receptions, it seemed rare that a Ravens defensive back was in the frame.
Something has to be done about Lardarius Webb. The performance he put on film today was beyond bad. It was embarrassing.
On one touchdown, he had a 10-yard cushion on the Seahawks receiver and still got burned. On another, the receiver ran a post route and Webb was completely turned around, with his back to the ball. How is that even an option you consider as a defender?
The Ravens, and their secondary in particular, were humiliated today.
Special Teams: A+
Very quietly, Kaelin Clay has put together an excellent resume to be Baltimore’s main return man in 2016. So far in two games, Clay is averaging 19.5 yards per kick return and 22.6 yards per punt return. He’s shown good top-end speed, as well as balance and the ability to make quick cuts in tight spaces.
Speaking of excellence, on his second punt of the day, Sam Koch placed a 56-yard punt inside the Seattle 5-yard line. In fact, this was the third time in Koch’s last four games he’s netted at least 45 yards per punt and had a long punt of at least 55 yards.
Justin Tucker had a solid game, converting two field goals (Baltimore’s only points).
Coverage-wise, the Ravens were outstanding again. The Seahawks didn’t return any kickoffs and their only punt “return” resulted in zero yards.
Team: C- (grade saved by special teams)
Homework:
- Go back to basics.
Player of the game: Kamar Aiken
Game balls:
- Offense: Kamar Aiken
- Defense: Courtney Upshaw
- Special Teams: Kaelin Clay
Stat of the game: The 29-point loss was Baltimore’s worst loss in its last 32 games (playoffs included).
Next exam: Sunday, December 20, vs. the Kansas City Chiefs
